From my notes:
o Mechanisms for achieving justice for ATSI people
• Racial Vilification
The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cwlth) was amended in 1995 to include Racial Hatred Act 1995 (Cwlth), which allowed citizens to complain about offensive racially motivated behavior. The legislation aims to balance the right to communicate freely and the right to live free from vilification.
• Anti Discrimination Legislation
The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) outlaws any form of discrimination or harassment towards ATSI people. The Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW, was set up under the Act to promote anti-discrimination and equal opportunity principles and polices throughout NSW. The ADB provides an enquiry service for people who want to know their rights/responsibilities, as well as informing NSW how they can prevent and deal with discrimination, through consultations, education programs, seminars, talks etc.
• Legal Aid
Legal aid = provision of legal services to socially and economically disadvantaged people at no or very little cost to them. ATSI people may experience particular difficulties in accessing the justice system. Legal aid plays a special role in improving access to justice. The Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) provides Legal Services to ATSI people in NSW/ACT. It continually receives funding to do so.
• Special Commissions – ATSIC
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission is a legal branch established by the Government to help ATSI people with the legal system. Abolished in 2005.
• Government Inquiries – Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody- established 1987, response to unacceptable number of ATSI deaths in police custody/jail. Commission found that there was no evidence of foul play by police officers. This caused damage to relationship between ATSI and the police, and the commission made 339 recommendations.
• Land Councils and Trusts
The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) was established to provide a mechanism for compensating Aboriginal people for their loss of land. The act states that land was traditionally owned and occupied by Aboriginal people. The act aims to compensate ATSI people in NSW for their loss of connection to the land. Therefore, a three-tiered network of Aboriginal land councils was established in NSW.
o Land rights – granted ATSI people rights to land. A legal document or ‘title deed’ is handed over to a community or organisation.
o Native title – Native title is a legal recognition of ATSI rights in Australian law and allows access and coexistence for customary lifestyles and traditions to be practiced. The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) works for the return of culturally significant and economically viable land. It pursues cultural, social and economic independence for ATSI people by being politically proactive and voicing the position of ATSI people on issues that affect them.
